The road has been heavily booby trapped, with hazards at almost every turn but, somehow, Newcastle have developed a knack of navigating a safe passage towards the sunlit uplands.
No matter that Sandro Tonali, their £55m summer signing from Milan, is banned for 10 months for gambling offences or that a raft of senior players including Sven Botman and Alexander Isak are injured, Eddie Howe’s team continue to impress on all fronts.
